I am a Space Ranger....

Hard

Sometimes it's hard being a Mom. 

You have this child and want to protect him/her from all of the pains in the world. But you can't. 

You watch them learn to walk, only to see them fall. 

You tell them not to do something (or to do something) and it's up to you to correct them when they don't listen. 

You have them rely on you completely, and watch as they no longer need you. 

You watch as they get sick and you can't do anything to help them feel better. 

You see them hurt, cry, need, and want. 

But you always watch as they learn right from wrong. 

As they steady themselves and take off walking, with no looking back. 

You see the joy in their faces as they do what they were told, and you shower them with praise. 

As they learn about God, and say their prayers the first time, it's your heart that swells with pride. 

When they learn to share, to talk, to count, and all the other daily skills they need, you know you are doing your job right.

Don't forget

Some of...

Some of Virginia's many faces

My family laughs at the many faces Miss Virginia makes. 

She always lets you know JUST what she is thinking!

She's developed a love for the camera! 

I can't pull my phone or camera out around her, or this is what I get! 

Just a day....

At the park! 

Yes, last week it was nice enough for the kids to go to the park! 

The kids all love a park here in town, Smiley Park. It has a children's garden, the normal park (with 3 different play centers!) different pavilions if you feel like taking a lunch, not to mention picnic tables in the garden. There is a duck pond, which right now doesn't have any ducks, obviously.

The garden area has a place to take pictures but right now it's covered up. 

There is a cute little "Winnie the Pooh" part of the garden, with a sand pit, and Pooh's thinking spot, Pooh's house, Tigger's bouncing spot, and other cute things

Nehemiah isn't a fan of the sand pit, but Virginia and Micah really like it! 

Photoshoot

Yesterday I decided to try and get some good pictures of the kids. I take a lot of pictures of them, but they're normally just clicking away. 

I think they're a little too used to having their pics taken. Nehemiah kept trying to pose himself, which resulted in a lot of over-posed pictures. 

As you can tell, I was bothering Virginia as she tried to read her book. 

My daughter is a little bit of a ham...

He kept wanting to put his hands up. 

"Cheese, Mom?! Ok, I'll cheese!!" (The cheese went well with her ham)

A good picture of both kids, Yay!! :) 

She was so excited to see the picture of a baby in her book! One of her favorite words is currently, Baby! 

Right now BabyGirl is measuring a little small. I'm almost 24 weeks, and she's measuring about 23. I'm due July 7th! :) 

Tomorrow Alex turns 28! So crazy to think that 5 years ago I didn't even know this man. We met on my 25th birthday! So very much has changed in the short time I've known him! Can't wait to spend the next 28 years with him! (And many more!)

Baby belly

Know how some women have a baby "bump" not me...apparently my girls are big babies. 

When I was pregnant for Nehemiah I didn't show til I was about 7 months along. And, silly me, I was sad. I wanted to look pregnant! I wanted people to know, "I'm having a baby!!"

When Nehemiah was 7 months old, I was pregnant with his sister. I didn't want to be big. Sure, I still liked being pregnant, I was excited about number two. But people can be so mean. I dreaded the, "How close are they going to be in age?" with a look of disgust from people. Or, "Don't you know what causes that?" Or any number of other rude comments people would make. They hurt. 

This time around, I didn't tell I was pregnant until I was 16 weeks (I wanted to wait til I was 20 weeks and knew the gender...but after Nicole announced she was going to be having a baby, I also announced) My family was thrilled. Alex and I are thrilled. I know when she comes, my kids will be thrilled. 

I didn't start telling people until I was 20 weeks. Part of it was the fun in keeping the secret. Part was I didn't want to hear the comments. And, yes, I did hear them. I bite my tongue and smile. I love my kids. All three will be loved and spoiled by Alex and I. Yes, there are a few things we need to get for her, but we are not going to be financially hurting because we're having a baby. 

I have another appt on Tuesday. I need to ask for sure what my due date is. They've told me the 13th of July, and the 7th. So I go with the 13th, knowing my kids have both come late so far. But still say that I'm 23 weeks along. ;)

So far I haven't had too many problems. I do have low blood pressure which means I have dizzy spells and I need to make sure I am eating foods with salt to keep my sodium up. As long as I eat enough and I don't over do it I seem to do ok. But days that I get too busy to eat, or do too much I start to hurt. 


Counting down the weeks til our little girl is here! 

My kids

Revelations 21:5

And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. 

Many people know how much we've struggled with Virginia's skin. We've tried creams, lotions, soaps, vitamins, doing nothing, wrapping her hands so she couldn't scratch, buying different pajamas, putting bleach in her bath water. 

I think this was when her skin was the worst

I'd taken her to the doctor, who sent her on to the dermatologist. What lovely news did they have for me? She'll outgrow it. I wouldn't accept that. My little girl was in pain. 

They gave me steroids for her,  something else I was not comfortable with. 

on top of her dry skin, she'd also gotten a sun burn. 

I'd taken her up for prayer, I'd researched. It would start to clear up, but her skin would still be dry.

 Last summer she'd gotten a sun burn, which helped clear up her skin for awhile, but wasn't a permanent solution. 

Many people would suggest different creams, lotions, soaps, but nothing helped. Each cream and such seemed to only upset her. She'd only scratch more. 

Along with her beautiful face being dry, her hands looked terrible. They were swollen and cracked. Sadly, I called them Monster hands b/c they looked so painful. 

Her legs were also dry. Putting tights and jeans on them would stop her from scratching. Skirts and dresses were not an option for her to wear, she'd very quickly start scratching. 

Many nights I'd cry as I'd look at her skin and know she was in pain. 

One night as I sat in my chair I kept getting colder and colder. When I checked the thermostat, it was set at 63. We keep it at 71. I don't know what caused it to get set to 63, but I started to think about it. Both kids rooms are upstairs. I know Virginia gets really warm in her sleep and sweats. I turned the heat down to 67 that night. The very next day, her skin started to look smoother! As the days and weeks went past, her skin became less dry. 

Soon she started to look totally different.  

Not only was her skin no longer dry, it was smooth! Her hands were clear! Her legs are doing better, but as before, when she's upset, she scratches them. 

Who knew that by turning our heat down, her skin would change? I believe the dry heat in her room was what was bothering her. I no longer put gloves on her hands to let her sleep. 

To some it may not be a big deal, but to our family, we still haven't gotten over how wonderful this blessing is!  

Don't have a lot to say, but that's ok, right? :) 

I'm almost 22 weeks along in my pregnancy, excited to meet my little girl! 

I think Virginia will love having a baby around. There isn't a day that goes by that she isn't carrying a doll baby around, and she is constantly talking about babies! 

Nehemiah has always loved babies, although he's always wanting to kiss and "pet" them, so I have to keep a close eye on him! 

Virginia is doing well with learning her body parts. She's doing well with her nose, belly, eyes, and hair. Then she decides she's done showing off. She learns new words everyday! 

Nehemiah loves anything to do with Toy Story and many days he is Buzz Lightyear. Thankfully he's stopped jumping off things! 

Both kids still get along really well, but there are days that they both bug each other. 

In this picture Nehemiah is wearing my Grandpa Barnhart's hat, and Virginia is wearing my Grandpa Barnhart's necklace :)